I usually rewatch Buckeye games, at least since 2014, at least one time.  The 2016 Fiesta is one rare exception. For three years, I've pretty much suppressed the memories of it.  This morning, I decided to go back and rewatch and take a few notes.  I'm glad I did, because it actually made me feel even more confident about this matchup.  I decided to share some of the notes for anybody who is interested. 

I've only made it through the 1st half so far, and I may leave it at that.  The game was over at that point anyway.  The summary is, we were good enough to beat them that day. We were controlling them physically for the most part on both lines, we just left too many points on the field and missed some 3rd down conversions that would've made a huge difference, not only in scoring, but giving our defense a chance to rest.  Our defense played an amazing first quarter and a half but was already gassed by about 5:00 to go in the 2nd quarter because they'd been on the field so much.  People see 31-0 and assume OSU was just outclassed and overmatched, but that is completely untrue. Anyway, here's a quick review of the drives that led to the massacre:

1. We got the ball first, went three and out. On third down, Weber dropped a pass in the flat that would've likely converted for a first down. All three plays were passes to the flat, which weren't effective all night. 
2. Clemson's first drive - Conley INT on 2nd down
3. 2nd Buckeye drive (13:11 Q1) - JT runs on 1st and 3rd down, 1 for a short gain and 1 for a loss. 6yrd pass to Terry Mac on 2nd. MISSED 47 yd field goal
4. Clemson 2nd drive - they made a 45 yd FG, but there was a play in the drive where Dahlman fumbled on 2nd down, but it was whistled dead.  We recovered, but at that time those plays could not be reviewed. 
5. 3rd Buckeye drive (9:16 Q1) - Parris had a huge KO return that put us at the Clemson 42.  Prince false started on 3rd and 1.  MISSED 47 yd field goal
6. Clemson scored TD on Watson keeper
7. 4th Buckeye drive (2:10 Q1) - Got one first down and then punted 
8. Clemson 3 and out
9. 5th Buckeye drive (13:02 Q2) - Pat Elflein false started on 1st down and Samuel dropped a wide open pass on 3rd down that would've converted- PUNT
10. Clemson - Hooker INT in the end zone
11. 6th Buckeye drive (7:55 Q2) - We got a first down and then on the next series, JT has a pass knocked down, which was his third pass knocked down in the first half by my count.  PUNT
12. Clemson TD on a jump ball in the end zone that Denzel Ward had covered really well.  This drive was where you could really tell our defense was starting to get gassed.  Tackling was not as good, and they gashed us for a few big plays. 
13. 7th Buckeye drive (2:19 Q2) - We got a first down on a very nice contested catch in the middle of the field by Victor. These passes in the middle were open the entire first half, not sure why we stopped attacking them there. Oh yeah, Ed Warriner. PUnted on the next series. 

So as I watched, I noticed that when we tried to pass into the flats or to the outside, we struggled.  Either their speed got out there and caused us to get behind the sticks, or JT had passes knocked down by their long DE's.  We actually had relative success passing in the middle of the field, which I expect to be open this time around, too.  I trust our current receivers 10x more than our 2016 crew which had young Campbell, McClaurin, and Victor making catches in the first half. But we know the 2016 receivers were a bit of a liability in terms of getting separation and JT sometimes struggled to fit the ball into tight windows.  

We all know that 2016 team was hampered by bad playcalling, but even with that, we could've competed if we didn't have so many dropped passes. missed FG's, and crucial penalties.  

I may add more notes later, and this may all be old news to you guys, but again I decided to share because it was a pretty eye-opening exercise for me. If anybody would like to watch the 30 minute version of the game I'm using - here's the link: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujXZ3Ez1cmk